Apple Has Eyes on Chipmaker Renasas Electronics

Apple is one of the biggest names in smartphones, but with its own share of the market reportedly on the decline, it's not surprising to see Apple take an active interest in branching out a bit. New reports suggest that Apple has its eye on a Japanese chip maker, Renasas Electronics, for a unit that deals specifically with chips for smartphone displays.

More specifically, Apple's interest is reportedly in Renasas SP Drivers, a joint venture between Renasas, Sharp, and Powerchip out of Taiwan. Apple is said to be out to get hands on Renasas' entire stake in the venture, a full 55 percent of the operation, and the reports further indicate that Apple is looking to pay around 50 billion yen (about $482.4 million U.S.) for the acquisition, which is actually fairly profitable for the group. The unit comprises 240 employees, roughly, and most of which would be kept on following the completion of the deal, which Apple hopes to have completed before summer starts.

The chip made as part of this venture would be a valuable acquisition for not just the iPhone line of products, but probably for much of Apple's mobile inventory. The chip offers a means to improve sharpness in image presentation, and an improvement overall to battery life, both developments that a mobile device would welcome. Plus, it would trim down Apple's own supply chain, as it gets all of its liquid crystal display chips from Renasas SP.

Apple's share of the global smartphone shipment totals, at last report, are down to around 15.2 percent of the global total, about half of that realized by Samsung, and further under threat by the arrival of several low-cost competitors like China's own Huawei. But with a new iPhone reportedly in the works—some are projecting an arrival of sometime this fall for the new device—it's not surprising to see that Apple may have a particular interest in the short term of circling the wagons and getting ready to launch a new device.

Apple's supply chain has been something of an issue for some time. Between the supply chain leaking information about upcoming releases—just yesterday, word came out about new iPhone 6 screens from the supply chain—and the various uncomfortable issues posed by the supply chain like buying from frequent lawsuit target Samsung (even back in July, the Wall Street Journal was discussing Apple's issues in breaking away from Samsung as a supplier), this makes the idea that Apple would want more control over its supply chain a sound idea. The more that Apple could produce in house, the better overall for Apple; it could keep a tighter rein over leaked information, and could also make moves toward earlier production to help ensure that there's less of a chance that shortages will occur in product releasing, something that never really helps a company.

Is this the beginning of a future in which Apple production is a largely in-house operation? It's not out of line to consider that possibility, though only time will tell just how close to a reality it actually gets. Still, Apple is clearly looking to make more of its own production happen, and with a new iPhone approaching, some maneuvering in the supply chain probably should be expected.